For Sheritta Washington, it’s not just cake. It’s a reflection of her community; it’s a legacy for her children, and it’s a reminder to appreciate the simple things in life like good cake and new friends. Colorado Pound Cake is a Denver-based bakery that specializes in Southern tea cakes and—you guessed it!—pound cakes.
Washington and her close-knit team are as busy as ever delivering orders throughout the pandemic, which speaks to the emotional pull of a cake baked with the expertise that comes with generations of practice and all-natural, local ingredients.
“COVID-19 has brought people back to the fundamentals of who we are and what life should be about,” she observes. Coloradans have been nostalgically pining over their cakes, from the classic chocolate to their you’d-never-guess-it-was-healthy sweet potato pound cake.
But, if you have a better idea, they want to hear it. Chances are, if you dream it, they can make it, and in fact, many customer requests have stuck around to become Colorado Pound Cake favorites. “If you like it, we love it!” Washington says.
As a mother of two, Washington recognizes that she is an entrepreneurial role model for her children and just about anyone else who knows her. She reflects on her family members who have great talents and regret never having started a business to showcase them. “As Black women, we were delegated as not being able to reach further.”
“I want to put my mark on the world,” she tells me, emphasizing that she wants her business to be seen as successful for what it is, not necessarily based on being Black-owned or woman-owned. She’s good at what she does, and that’s what she intends to be known for.
For others with similar entrepreneurial aspirations, she cautions against delaying until everything is perfect. “We are what we tell ourselves we are,” she counsels. “Change the narratives.” She adds that there will never be a point when everything is perfect, so you just have to start and trust that the people who care about you will follow your lead.
Soon, Colorado Pound Cake will be opening a storefront where it will really be able to lean into their ideals of having space to connect with customers. Washington and her team aim to remind their customers that life gets a little tastier with a healthy serving of human connection.
From the first moment you speak to Washington, you’ll have no doubt that she’s a people person. She wants her family to meet yours, no matter what family means to you. They welcome people of all stripes and want to know their customers’ stories.
“Why did they come to see us, and what interests them about our cakes?” she enthuses. “We love to jog a memory by trying cake and tap into the nostalgia of this present moment to start to make out the faint, silver lining.”
Visit coloradopoundcake.com for more info.
Photos by Justine Johnson
